More than a century ago, foresters in New Zealand recognised that natural forests would not be able to sustain the nation's wood needs. Furthermore, they recognised those forests should be conserved for future generations.

Of the many alternative tree species available, one quickly surpassed the others for its ability to produce fine timber. Large-scale planting of radiata pine (a Californian species) began in the 1930s.

It was soon recognised that long-length clear timber would be in short supply, as worldwide wood supply from old-growth forests was decreasing. Another breakthrough occurred when a new pruning regime was developed which could produce high yields of full length clear lumber.

New Zealand's sustainably grown forests are one of the nation's biggest success stories.

Today, most of our indigenous forests are protected by law in large-scale parks and reserves. Wood supply comes from large-scale radiata pine plantations - producing high yields of full length clear lumber. This is the wood resource that Tenon has specialised in processing to produce its clearwood products.